


Let it Snow

by Nisachan666



Category: Naruto
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, POV First Person, Snow, Snowball Fight, Snowed In, Songfic, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:58:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nisachan666/pseuds/Nisachan666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shino has never liked winter, and there is one thing that epitomises that dreaded season: snow. So when he gets snowed in after spending the day with Kiba, he is less than amused. Kiba may have the answer to that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let it Snow

_Oh, the weather outside is frightful_

_But the fire is so delightful_

_And since we've no place to go_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

* * *

If there is anything in this world that comes close to my hatred for carnivorous plants, then it is winter. Why? Because I am spectacularly unsuited for it. It is something that I can instinctively feel coming, the kikaichu burrowing deeper into my body as they seek out some last vestige of heat. When the cold finally hits, the insects often refuse to come out at all and it is all that I can do to grip a kunai without my hands seizing up. It seems to affect the majority of my clan, especially when the season is particularly bitter, but they manage to cope far better than I. My days spent cooped up inside are usually spent wishing for spring and the far-off warmth of summer. 

 

Kiba, of course, loves winter. If any season can bring out his inner childishness, though not a difficult task, then it is winter. He and Akamaru can often be seen racing through the snow, leaving giant pawprints in the otherwise untouched white layer. His laughter would be infectious in different circumstances, and there are times that I wish that I could match his enthusiasm. There's certainly no-one else who I would brave the cold for. Not too often though; I had to have some limits. 

 

I kept telling myself that as I was crouched behind a pile of snow that was currently acting as a barricade. Kiba had somehow persuaded me that having a snowball fight would be fun. I was going to say no, but then he had that grin of his firmly on his face, the one that promises good times and more than a little bit of trouble, and I found myself reluctantly agreeing instead. Hence the barricade. From the sound of it when I last poked my head up from it, there were a lot more flat thuds from compacted snow around me than should really have been. Kiba was fast, but not that much. Another peek around the barricade confirmed it: Akamaru had been recruited to speed up production and deployment of snowballs, despite what I thought was an unspoken agreement to not use jutsus. 

"That's cheating!" I said, trying to keep the petulant tone out of my voice. 

"Doesn't look like cheating to me," he replied, hurling a snowball where my head had just been. "Just uneven odds." 

If I could have glowered at him without risking snow to the face, then I would have. Instead, I sighed and hefted a snowball of my own in his general direction, hoping that this would be over soon. 

 

The phrase is "Be careful what you wish for", correct? About 20 minutes into the fight, I felt every tendon in my hand suddenly tense up. The pain is never sharp, more a dull ache that permeates to the bone, but it was sudden enough to send my breath out in a rush. The sound of snow impacting snow ceased, followed by footsteps crunching towards me. 

"Hey, you okay?" Kiba asked, leaning over my barricade. 

I considered lying, but it's been my experience that lying to trackers never goes well; we can hear heart-rates, see in minute detail nervous twitches of the hands and eyes, smell the fear on skin. It doesn't work. Besides, I had never quite ironed out the impulse to clench my jaw when in pain, and he would have noticed that instantly. 

"Been out too long. Sorry," I said, straightening up and sliding my hands into my pockets. 

"And here I thought you had on too many layers to count," he said, his joking tone belied by his rigid posture and grin with too many teeth to be real. 

"I do. I just misjudged the time." 

"Looks like you timed it well enough," he said, gesturing at the sky. "I'd say we're in for some more snow soon." 

We went back inside, and as soon as the gloves were off, Kiba knew how much I had been understating the situation. My fingers were white down to the second knuckle, a faint rim of blue at the base of the nails, and noticeably shaking. The next thing I knew there was a blanket over my head and Kiba staring at me from no more than a couple of inches away. 

"You said that you'd warn me if the cold was getting to you, remember?" he said, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he frowned. 

"I seem to remember as such." 

"And yet every time I take you out, you come back with frostbite. What part of that don't you get?" 

"It's not frostbite. It's poor circulation." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're avoiding the question." 

I shrugged, unsure what to say. I didn't think that saying what I really thought would go down well, so I kept quiet. I'm not that bothered if his enjoyment distracts me from my discomfort somewhat, but I don't think he'd be too happy at the idea. 

He sighed and said, "Just go wrap up and sort your hands out. If I come back and see you haven't done it, I'll have Akamaru sit on you. Right boy?" 

Akamaru barked with what seemed like a bit too much enthusiasm as he left the room; I glanced at him and decided that, yes, he definitely would carry out that request. At least that's what I assumed the slightly higher than usual level of glee on his canine face was. 

By the time Kiba returned, skin had darkened to its normal hue, though the ache remained. Outside, his earlier prediction of more snow had come true, the heavy flakes already well on the way to covering up any trace that we had been out there mere minutes before. Gesturing at Akamaru, he ducked down under the blanket that he had draped over my shoulders. He drew it closer as Akamaru settled down behind us. 

"How are the hands?" he asked. 

"Little bit of pins and needles, but they should be fine in a little while." 

"Good." 

Satisfied that everything was sorted out, he drew closer, laying his head on my shoulder. I felt him smile against my skin. 

"Told you there would be more snow," he said, the child-like excitement impossible for his voice to mask. 

"So you did," I replied, frowning slightly. "If it keeps up at this rate, you'll have to stay the night." 

"Oh?" he asked, lifting his head briefly to give me a suggestive look. "You only had to ask, you know." 

"I'm serious. I don't like the idea of you going out in that." 

"I know. I was only partly serious." 

I smiled and lifted a hand to nestle in his hair. 

"So even you know your limits now," I said. 

"Look who's talking," he replied. 

"I suppose I deserve that. I just don't want to force you inside all the time because I don't handle it as well." 

"That's sweet and all, but winter does bring fun things that you  _don't_ need to freeze to enjoy. Like this." 

With that, he sat up and pressed a kiss to my lips; simple and chaste, and more warming to me than any fire could be. I decided then that winter might just be tolerable. Only just though. 

**Author's Note:**

> The Christmas songs have just started on the radio and when "Let it Snow" turned up, I couldn't resist writing this. I am far from the first person to assume that Shino would be less than happy during winter, but I liked the image a lot and I'm far too shameless to pass up the opportunity for easy fluff material. This is my first time writing Shino as a first person POV, but I hope it went well.


End file.
